Shared Flashcard Set

Details

AP Government
Chapter 7 (bob)
37
Other
10th Grade
01/19/2008

Additional Other Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term

Bicameral Legislature 

Definition
A legislature divided into two houses; the U.S. Congress and the state legislatures are bicameral except Nebraska which is unicameral.
Term
Apportionment
Definition
The process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the decennial census according to their proportion of the population
Term
Redistricting
Definition
The redrawing of congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state
Term
Bill
Definition
A proposed law
Term
Impeachment
Definition

The power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president, or other "civil officers," including federal judges, with "Treason, Bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." This is the first step in the consitutional process of removing such government officials from office.

Term
Majority Party
Definition
The political party in each house of Congress with the most members
Term
Minority Party
Definition
The political party in each hosue of Congress with the second most members
Term
Speaker of the House
Definition
The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitutionn; elected at the beginning of each new Congress by the entire House; traditionally a member of hte majority party
Term
Party Causcus or Conference
Definition
A formal gathering of all party members
Term
Majority Leader
Definition
The elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House of Representatives or the Senate; is second in authority to the Speaker of the House and in the Senate is reguarded as its most powerful member.
Term
Minority Leader
Definition
The elected leader of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate
Term
Whip
Definition
Key representative who keeps close contact with all members and takes nose counts on key votes, prepares summaries of bills, and in general acts as communications link within the party.
Term
President Pro Tempore
Definition
The official chair of the Senate; usually the most senior memmber of the majority party
Term
Standing Committe
Definition
Proposed bills are sent there
Term
Joint Committee
Definition
Includes memmbers from both houses of Congress; conducts investigations of special studies
Term
Conference Committee
Definition
Joint Committee created to iron out differences between Senate and House versions of a specific piece of legislation
Term
Select (or special) Committee
Definition
Temporary committee appointed for specific purpose, such as conducting a special investigation
Term
Discharge petition
Definition
Petition that gives a majority of t he House of Representatives the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction
Term
Pork
Definition
Legislation that allows representatives to bring home the bacon to their districts in the form of public work prorgrams, military bases, or other programs designed to benefit their districts directly.
Term
Earmark
Definition
Funds that an appropriations bill designates for a particular pupose within a state or congressional district
Term
Seniority
Definition
Time of continuous service on a committee
Term
Incumbency
Definition
The fact that being in office helps a person stay in office because of a variety of benefits that go with the position
Term
Trustee
Definition
Role played by elected representatives who listen to constituents' opinions and then use their best judgment to make final decisions
Term
Delegate
Definition
Role played by elected representatives who vote the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinions
Term
Politico
Definition
Role played by elected representatives who act as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue
Term
Divided Government
Definition
The political condition in which different political parties control the White House and Congress.
Term
Logrolling
Definition
Vote trading, voting yea to support a colleague's bill in return for a promise of future support
Term
Markup
Definition
A process in nwhich committee members offer changes to a bill becfore it goes to the floor in either house for a vote
Term
Hold
Definition
A tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. This stops the bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed.
Term
Filibuster
Definition
A formal way of halting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the Senate.
Term
Cloture
Definition
Mechanism requiring sixty senators to vote to cut off debate
Term
Veto
Definition
Formal constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of the legislative body, thus preventing their becoming law without further congressional activity
Term
Pocket Veto
Definition
If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, without the president's signature, the bill is considered vetoed
Term
Oversight
Definition
Congressional review of the activities of an agency, depratment, or office
Term
Congressional Review
Definition
A process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval
Term
War Powers Act
Definition
Passed by Congress in 1973; the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty day period in peacetime (which can be extended for an extra thirty days to permit withdrawal) unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period
Term
Senatorial Courtesy
Definition
A process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senator in whose state the vacancy occurs
Supporting users have an ad free experience!